Portrait, Robert Reich, 08/16/09. (photo: Perian Flaherty)
24 September 13
ill O'Reilly slammed me on his Fox News show last night for mentioning, in a New York Times op-ed
last weekend, that he has called me a Communist. In that op-ed I
referred to his Communist name-calling as an example of the kind of ad
hominem incivility that now passes for political debate in America - of
which O'Reilly is a part.
O'Reilly took umbrage that I would even bring it up.
Apparently he thinks it's perfectly fine to call me names but offensive
for me to criticize him for doing so.
Yet O'Reilly refuses to have me on his show to debate
any of this - either his initial charge I'm a Communist, or his
indignation that I mentioned it in last weekend's op-ed. When he first
claimed I was a Communist I challenged him to a debate - a civil debate.
He refused. He still refuses. He won't even debate the topic of my
op-ed - the increasing shrillness and divisiveness of Fox News and other
media outlets, which are only adding to the vitriol of American
politics.
Why won't O'Reilly debate me? What's he afraid of?
See Also: Robert Reich | American Bile
Robert B. Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public
Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of
Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the
ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has
written thirteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock" and "The
Work of Nations." His latest is an e-book, "Beyond Outrage." He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause.
No comments:
Post a Comment